Vice-champions kickstart new UCL campaign: Thuram's brace takes Ajax down
Reading Time: 3min | Thu. 18.09.25. | 09:39
Inter's boss, Cristian Chivu, seems to have found a perfect set-piece tandem, as both Frenchman's goals came after Hakan Calhanoglu's assists from corner kicks
The previous UEFA Champions League campaign was almost excellent for Inter Milan. Had it not been for an embarrassing 5-0 defeat to Paris Saint-Germain in the grand final, it would have been perfect, and the impression would have been much better.
That loss and the Serie A failure cost Simone Inzaghi his job, so the Nerazzurri gave their trust to Cristian Chivu and are still getting used to life with the Romanian on the bench. Two league defeats in three league rounds and a 4-3 loss to Juventus in Derby d'Italia just four days before their maiden game in the new UCL campaign weren't a good introduction to the clash against Ajax in Amsterdam.
Still, the Milan side showed class in Amsterdam and recorded a pretty easy 2-0 triumph, mainly thanks to the tandem Chivu seems to have found - Marcus Thuram and Hakan Calhanoglu.
In the span of only five minutes - in the 42nd and 47th - the Turk took two corner kicks and the Frenchman bagged a brace with two fantastic headers, securing the three points for the visitors - 2-0.
However, things could have been much different had Ajax's Mika Godts scored in a one-on-one situation with Yann Sommer just two minutes before Inter's opener. Yet, the Swiss custodian impressed.
2 - Marcus #Thuram is only the 2nd #Inter player to score a brace by header in a #ChampionsLeague match, after Hernán Crespo on 12/11/2002 - both against #Ajax in an away match. Flight.#AjaxInter #UCL pic.twitter.com/i5bxUKVxtx
— OptaPaolo (@OptaPaolo) September 17, 2025
In the end, the Nerazzurri easily defended their convincing lead and kickstarted the new UCL campaign, while Thuram became only the second Inter player to net a brace by header after Hernan Crespo, who did it in November 2002 against the same rival at the same stadium!
In the second UCL round, the Serie A side will host Slavia Prague, and Ajax will face Olympique Marseille on the road. Both clashes are scheduled for September 30 at 22.00.
UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE - MATCHDAY 1
Tuesday
Athletic Bilbao - Arsenal 0-2 (0-0)
/Martinelli 72, Trossard 87/
PSV - St. Gilloise 1-3 (0-2)
/Van Bommel 90 - David 9 pen, Ait El Hadj 39, Mac Allister 81/
Benfica - Qarabag 2-3 (2-1)
/Barrenechea 6, Pavlidis 16 - Andrade 30, Duran 48, Kashchuk 86/
Juventus - Dortmund 4-4 (0-0)
/Yildiz 64, Vlahovic 68, 90+4, Kelly 90+6 - Adeyemi 52, Nmecha 65, Couto 75, Bensebaini 83 pen/
Real Madrid - Olympique Marseille 2-1 (1-1)
/Mbappe 29 pen, 81 pen - Weah 22/
Tottenham - Villarreal 1-0 (1-0)
/Luiz Junior 4 og/
Wednesday
Olympiacos - Paphos 0-0
Slavia Prague - Bodo 2-2 (1-0)
/Mbodji 23, 74 - Bassi 78, Fet 90/
Ajax - Inter 0-2 (0-1)
/Thuram 42, 47/
Bayern - Chelsea 3-1 (2-1)
/Chalobah 20 og, Kane 27 pen, 63 - Palmer 29/
Liverpool - Atletico Madrid 3-2 (2-1)
/Robertson 4, Salah 6, Van Dijk 90+2 - Llorente 45+3, 81/
PSG - Atalanta 4-0 (2-0)
/Marquinhos 3, Khvicha 39, Mendes 51, Ramos 90+1/
Thursday
19.45: (2.80) Club Brugge (3.40) Monaco (2.50)
19.45: (3.20) Copenhagen (3.40) Leverkusen (2.25)
22.00: (2.10) Eintr.Frankfurt (3.50) Galatasaray (3.40)
22.00: (1.70) Man.City (3.60) Napoli (5.30)
22.00: (3.15) Newcastle (3.50) Barcelona (2.20)
22.00: (1.08) Sporting (12.0) Kairat Almaty (25.0)
***odds are subject to change***
